Steve Pearce Traded to Red Sox from Blue Jays for Santiago Espinal

The Boston Red Sox are not waiting around for the July 31 trade deadline in order to address their roster.

One day after signing three-time All-Star Brandon Phillips to a minor league deal, Boston acquired utility man Steve Pearce and cash from the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for minor league infielder Santiago Espinal.

While this is by no means a blockbuster trade, Pearce offers the Red Sox a solid bat as well as versatility. A career .255 hitter, the 35-year-old is hitting .291/.349/.519 with four home runs, six doubles and 16 RBI in 26 games this season. He can play first, second, third and either corner outfield position.

Pearce debuted back in 2007 with the Pittsburgh Pirates. After spending the first five years of his career in the Steel City, he is now on his sixth team in seven seasons. The most interesting tidbit of this trade is the fact that he has now been a member of all five teams in the American League East, as The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal pointed out.

The veteran utility man is making $6.25 million, so the cash Boston receives will help even out the salaries in the deal.

Meanwhile, Espinal has shown promise at the plate through the first two-plus years of his professional career. He hit .280 with four home runs, 18 doubles, four triples, 46 RBI and 20 stolen bases in 123 games at Single-A last season. The 23-year-old followed that up by hitting .313 with seven home runs, 15 doubles, three triples, 32 RBI and nine steals in 65 games at High-A this season.

He has been on a roll lately, hitting .346 in May and .337 in June. The right-handed hitting Espinal is hitting .360 against southpaws and .293 against righties in 2018.

Espinal has played second, third and shortstop in the minors.

At 55-27, Boston holds just a one-game game lead over the archrival New York Yankees in the AL East. Looking to improve their playoff chances, the Red Sox got ahead of the game and made a move before the calendar even flipped to July.